Step Up 2: The Streets (Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture:
B+/B Sound: B+/B Extras: B
Film: D
Just in case
you hadn’t seen the film Honey
(2003) starring Jessica Alba or the numerous other current films that combine
Hip Hop/Dance and try to water it down with white people, there is Step Up 2: The Streets, which is far
inferior in just about every aspect and is not even an adequate sequel in many
respects. More often than not these
films play out like a 90-minute music video that focuses more attention on the
soundtrack and perhaps dance moves and shortchanges the script or becomes to
clichéd for it’s own good, in this film we have all negative aspects working on
all cylinders to the point that it becomes unintentionally comedic.
Here we
have a romantic flare-up occur between two dance students in Maryland, but it
is the street-style that not only is the true passion, but the way of life and
the struggles that exist between doing what you love and being with who you
love. It’s hokey, but teenagers eat it
up.
The DVD
and Blu-ray present the film in a 1.85 X 1 anamorphic transfer with the Blu-ray
showcasing the film in 1080p and not only looking significantly sharper, but
also having better color fidelity and the video black is far superior giving a
more three-dimensional quality. By
comparison the DVD shows a more aged appearance with a smudgy look and to some
extent a bit of grain. Colors are not
nearly as rich on the DVD either and the same goes for the Dolby Digital
soundtrack on the DVD, which is greatly outperformed by the Blu-ray’s Dolby
Digital 5.1 TrueHD mix. Since this film
features a large degree of music this is a vital component and to some extent I
wish they would have gone with a DTS-HD mix.
Extras
are abundant for a sequel including deleted scenes, music videos featuring the
following songs: Low, Ching-a-Ling,
Killa, Hypnotized, and Let it Go,
which will be as unmemorable as this film in a few years, especially when the
next wave of trendy music arrives on scene with another cookie cutter
script. There are also outtakes and
making-of segment and a video prank segment, which all-together make for a big
package of fluff that only die-hard dancers or fans of this film will truly
appreciate or even have the ability to sit through.
For more
on the first film, try this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4758/Step+Up+(2006)
- Nate Goss
